The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
Back to trending 
The Damned Don't Cry
Crime · Drama · 1950
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
Movie details
The Damned Don't Cry
“Warner Bros.' Flaming Stars of 'Flamingo Road' Meet in Scarlet Shadows Again!”
1950 Crime · Drama 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Damned Don't Cry?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Plunder Road
Crime · 1957
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
The Wrong Man
Crime · 1956
In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
Pitfall
Drama · 1948
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Greed
Drama · 1924
When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.
Angels with Dirty Faces
Crime · 1938
Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.
Scarlet Street
Drama · 1945
Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.
The Dark Corner
Crime · 1946
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Force of Evil
Crime · 1950
Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.
The Strange Woman
Drama · 1946
In early 19th century New England, an unscrupulous woman uses her beauty and wits to seduce, deceive and control the men around her.
Glengarry Glen Ross
Crime · 1992
Times are tough at Premiere Properties. Shelley "the machine" Levene and Dave Moss are veteran salesmen, but only Ricky Roma is on a hot streak. The new Glengarry sales leads could turn everything around, but the front office is holding them back until these "losers" prove themselves. Then someone decides to take matters into his own hands, stealing the Glengarry leads and leaving everyone wondering who did it.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Vincent Sherman
Written by
Jerome Weidman · Harold Medford · Gertrude Walker
Joan Crawford
Ethel Whitehead
David Brian
George Castleman
Steve Cochran
Nick Prenta
Kent Smith
Martin Blackford
Hugh Sanders
Grady
Selena Royle
Patricia Longworth
Jacqueline deWit
Sandra
Court is in session
Put The Damned Don't Cry on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.